Thumbs Up! March 2, 2015

It wasn’t Carnegie Hall, but the concert held last week at the historic Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church across from the Albany Civil Rights Institute was, in some ways, more impressive. The youthful voices of chorus members from six high schools did indeed let freedom ring in celebration of Black History Month. Students from Albany High, Deerfield-Windsor, Dougherty, Monroe, Sherwood Christian and Westover joined together for the first time in Albany’s history to present a musical program, and the house was packed. Each chorus rehearsed for more than a month with weekly joint rehearsals. The logistics involved in such an event such as this are mind-boggling. The results were well worth it. Retired educator, former school board member and current ACRI board member C.W. Grant had this to say, “If I ruled the world, I would decree that every evening in America be like this one.” To those that made it all possible, thank you.

One hundred and 50 new jobs are coming to Albany. When was news like that last announced? Over the next three years, WebstaurantStore will invest $10 million in a distribution and fulfillment center. The business is one that supplies restaurant equipment and supplies by way of online orders. It seems that the company president visited Albany for the Georgia Quail Hunt back in the ’90s and when the former Bridgestone/Firestone building was one of the choices presented, he decided to revisit the city and, well, we know the rest of the story. WebstaurantStore currently has three U.S. distribution centers and has shipped more than 4 million orders. Welcome to Albany!

Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital has a very nice gift shop just across from the information desk at the main entrance. Visitors can choose from the usual items found in such places, but there are a number of unique items also in inventory. Few, if any, gift shop shoppers question where the revenue generated at the shop winds up. The Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital Volunteer Advisory Board has given an answer to that unasked question. A donation has been made by the Advisory Board that the Phoebe Foundation is the recipient of $900,000 from the sales of flowers, books, stuffed animals and such. The money will go toward the construction of a $5 million housing complex designed specifically to meet the needs of students of the Medical College of Georgia Southwest Georgia Clinical Campus, which is at Phoebe. The 25-unit gated student housing community will be both convenient and safe, making it all the more attractive to wishing to complete a medical residency.

The Drug Abuse and Treatment Education funds that are generated by the men and women who have been sentenced in the Dougherty County Court System. The Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office has used some of these dollars to administer the C.H.A.M.P.S. (Choosing Healthy Activities and Methods Promoting Safety) program in elementary schools throughout the year. In the summer, C.H.A.M.P.S. has traditionally held a five-week session. Children that can afford a $35 fee are asked to do so. No child is turned away. The rapidly approaching summer program has a great need for equipment, including basketballs, footballs, a pool table, table tennis table and more. Each of the items have been a part of the programs in the past but are simply worn out. The question from the county seems to be if such purchases “fit” into the verbiage of how drug education monies are to be spent. Such details could keep kids from shooting baskets but not from shooting one another. Here’s hoping the bureaucracy does whatever necessary to make it happen. Meanwhile, if you would like to make a donation of money or goods, call the DCSO at (229) 431-2166.